My Favourite Toy Was a Stuffed Goose – What Was Yours?
Firstly, let me delve into what is a stuffed toy? A stuffed or plush toy is toys sewn from clothe, plush or other textiles stuffed with straw, beans, cotton synthetics fibres or other plastic substances. Apparently, the first commercial concern to create stuffed toys is the Steiff Company, founded in 1880 in Giengen an der Brenz, Germany. Popular types of classic stuffed animals are teddy bears and sock monkeys. (Wikipedia).
I remember a stuffed Goose as my earliest favourite toy. What was yours? Child-hood memories can sometimes be a little fuzzy or extremely vivid. As adults we can have flash backs of different things that went on in our lives or our favourite toys that we had to have with us. This is what I particularly want to focus on our earliest recollection of a very special toy that we simply loved to bits! Most of us would say we had a plush stuffed teddy bear given to us and it became our most lovable toy. Others like myself had different stuffed animals to cherish and cuddle like a goose, bunny rabbit, and ducks, or any of the farm or safari animals. Hey! Not forgetting the animals that live in the sea. When I was young I remember a friend having a stuffed turtle as his little” brother.”
It does not matter where you come from; children love a soft plush toy to hug. These toys can be so life-like and cute that it is irresistible and you just got to have one. Plush toys are so affordable these days that you can shower your children with more than one. You can have all kinds of soft cuddly toys. Sometimes children can be given a little blanket toy that has an animal head with a blanket for its body. Perhaps it is the size of these plush toys that makes it possible for children to relate to. These toys are usually smaller than the children so they can relate well to the toy. Adults or older siblings can be intimidating by their sheer size.
Hand or finger puppets are great fun for the entire family. Children under three years old may put puppets into their mouths and cause it to choke them so beware. Adult supervision is recommended at all times. These cute finger or hand puppets are excellent for infants between three and eight months as it helps with eye coordination. When was the last time you put on a puppet show? I guarantee that it would work like a charm as you capture the imagination of a child. Children are simple and not complicated like grown-ups and very quickly you will hear little giggles or squeals when they see you wriggle your hand or finger puppets accompanied by animal sounds. I bet they will be wanting more. When they are a little older they may want to put on a show of their own for all the adults. This may become a tradition at your home. What a fun reason to get close friends and relatives together. When I was very young my mother would make little dolls and stuffed them with rice. It brought endless hours of joy to me. In turn when I had children of my own I would make little stuffed animals as well.
